WBCS Syllabus 2024 and Exam Pattern PDF Download Link

WBCS Syllabus 2024

Every year, the West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC) conducts the West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) Exam to recruit candidates for various posts. Aspirants can find the WBCS Syllabus and Exam Pattern on this page, helping them prepare for the upcoming exam in 2024. The WBCS Exam consists of three stages: Preliminary, Mains, and Interview. It’s crucial to understand the WBPSC Common Services Examination Syllabus & Exam Pattern for effective preparation. The prelims exam follows an objective type test, and in case of equal marks, the Date of Birth serves as the deciding factor. Alongside the official syllabus, candidates need a well-planned strategy to succeed in the exam in their first attempt.

This article provides insights into the WBCS Syllabus and the exam pattern for both prelims and mains.

WBCS Syllabus 2024: Overview

Refer the below table for overview details for WBCS Syllabus 2024:

Particulars	Details
Recruitment Body	West Bengal Public Service Commission
Exam Name	WBCS 2024
Category	Syllabus
Exam Level	State
Mode of Exam	Offline
Selection Process	Prelims Mains Interview
Official Website	https://licindia.in/

WBCS Syllabus and Exam Pattern

The WBCS Prelims exam consists single paper on General Studies. For the WBCS Mains Exam, candidates face six compulsory papers and one optional subject with two papers. Optional Subjects are for those opting for Group A and Group B services. Among the compulsory papers, four are of the MCQ type, covering topics like General Studies, the Constitution of India and Indian Economy, Arithmetic, and Test of Reasoning. The Mains Exam, conducted in Bengali/English, is of the Conventional/Essay type. Any disclosure of identity in any paper, results in 10% deduction from the total marks.

West Bengal PSC Exam Pattern

Applicants appearing for the West Bengal Civil Service exam should be aware of the exam pattern for all the stages. Understanding the exam pattern of WBPSC, can provide a thorough knowledge of the exam process.

Below table shows the overview of the exam pattern of the prelims, mains and interview:

Tier	Name of Exam	Type of Exam	Name of Paper	Marks
I	Preliminary	Objective	General Studies	200
II	Mains	Objective Conventional	Paper-I (Conventional Type) Paper-II (Conventional) Paper-III (Objective) Paper-IV (Objective) Paper-V (Objective) Paper-VI Paper-VII & VIII (Optional)	Paper I to VI: 200 (each) Paper VII and VIII: 400
III	Personality Test	Interview	–	200

WBCS Exam Pattern – Prelims

The prelims exam is the first stage of the West Bengal PSC CCE. The WBCS Prelims Exam Pattern consists of English Composition, General Science, Current events of National & International Importance, History of India, etc. The exam duration for the WBCS prelims exam is 2 hours.

The exam pattern of the WBCS is given below:

Subject Name	Marks	Questions	Time Duration
English Composition	25	25	2.5 hours
General Science	25	25	2.5 hours
Current events of National & International Importance	25	25	2.5 hours
History of India	25	25	2.5 hours
Geography of India with special reference to West Bengal	25	25	2.5 hours
Indian Polity and Economy	25	25	2.5 hours
Indian National Movement	25	25	2.5 hours
General Mental Ability	25	25	2.5 hours
Total	200	200	–

WBCS Exam Pattern – Mains

The WBCS Mains examination consists of a total of 8 papers, including two papers for the optional subject. Each paper has a duration of 3 hours. The WBCS Mains Exam Pattern 2024 covers various subjects such as Language Paper, General Studies, Constitution of India, Indian Economy, Arithmetic, Reasoning, and the Optional Subject.

Candidates can check the WBCS Mains Exam Pattern from the below table.

Subject	Marks	Marks	Marks	Marks	Time Duration
	Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Language Paper (Bengali/Hindi/Urdu/Nepali/Santali)	200	200	200	200	3 hours
English Paper	200	200	200	200	3 hours
General Studies – Paper I	200	200	200	200	3 hours
General Studies-Paper II	200	200	200	200	3 hours
Constitution of India and Indian Economy	200	200	200	200	3 hours
Arithmetic and Test of Reasoning	200	200	200	200	3 hours
Optional Subject – (One subject: Two papers of 200 marks each)	400	400	NA	NA	3 hours
Personality Test	200	200	150	100
Total Marks	1800	1800	1350	1300

WBCS Syllabus

Having thorough understanding of the WBCS Syllabus and having syllabus PDF is compulsory for candidates approaching for the WBPSC 2024 Exam. The topic wise details of the WB PSC prelims and mains syllabus along with the marking scheme is given below.

WBCS Syllabus – Prelims

The WBCS Prelims syllabus 2024 consists sections on General Studies topics like Indian Polity, Economy, History, and Geography. There is 200 MCQ type questions in the paper. Each topic is assigned 25 marks. The duration of the exam is 2.5 hours. The Prelims is only a screening test, and its marks are not considered for final selection.

The eight topics given in WBCS Prelims Syllabus are:

1. English Composition

• Synonyms and Antonyms
• Idioms and Phrases
• Vocabulary Test
• Phrasal Verbs
• Homophones
• Fill in the qualifying words

2. General Science

• General appreciation
• Understanding of science
• Matters of everyday observation
• Experience as expected from an educated person not having made special studies of scientific disciplines

3. Current Events of National and International Importance

• Significant events affecting India and its relations with the world

4. History of India

• Ancient
• Medieval
• Modern

5. Geography of India with special reference to West Bengal

• Physical Geography
• Social Geography
• Economic Geography

6. Indian Polity and Economy

• Indian Constitution
• Panchayati Raj
• Constitutional Bodies, etc.

7. Indian National Movement

• Nature and character of Nineteenth-Century Resurgence
• Growth of Nationalism
• Attainment of Independence

8. General Mental Ability

• Logical Reasoning
• Common Aptitude

WBCS Syllabus – Mains

Candidates qualifying in the Prelims will proceed to the WBCS Mains exam, which includes compulsory papers on Language, English, General Studies, Arithmetic, Reasoning, the Constitution of India, Indian Economy, and Optional Subjects. The Mains exam consists of six compulsory papers and two papers for the optional subject, each carrying 200 marks. Candidates will have 3 hours for each paper.

Papers	Subjects	Topics
Paper 1	Bengali/ Hindi/ Urdu/ Nepali/ Santhali	Letter writing (within 150 words) Drafting of Report (within 200 words) Precis Writing Composition Translation from English to Bengali/ Hindi/ Urdu/ Nepali/ Santhali
Paper 2	English	Letter writing (within 150 words) Drafting of Report (within 200 words) Precis Writing Composition Translation from Bengali/ Hindi/ Urdu/ Nepali/ Santhali to English
Paper 3	General Studies – I	Indian History with an emphasis on National Movement Geography of India with special reference to West Bengal
Paper 4	General Studies-II	Science and Scientific & Technological advancement Environment General Knowledge Current Affairs
Paper 5	The Constitution of India and Indian Economy	Role of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Functions of RBI
Paper 6	Arithmetic & Test of Reasoning	Arithmetic: Similar to Mathematics paper at the Madhyamik Examination of the Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal. Test of Reasoning: Analytical Reasoning: Data Sufficiency Logical Reasoning: Logical Deduction Forcefulness of the Arguments Implication of sentences Inferring from diagrams Series: Letter series Number series Inferring from Data Analogy tests Symbol Interpretation Mathematical puzzles Odd man out Perception test Non-verbal reasoning Selecting correct sequence
Paper 7 & 8	Optional Papers	In accordance with the subject opted by candidates

List of Optional Subject For WBCS Mains

The Mains exam will consist of two optional papers of which candidates will have to choose from a list of 37 subjects given below. Candidates will be able to select one optional subject as both the optional papers will constitute questions from the subject opted by candidates.

List of optional subject along with their code is given below:

Subject	Code
Bengali	1
Hindi	2
Sanskrit	3
English	4
Pali	5
Arabic	6
Persian	7
French	8
Urdu	9
Santali	10
Comparative Literature	11
Agriculture	12
Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science	13
Anthropology	14
Botany	15
Chemistry	16
Civil Engineering	17
Commerce and Accountancy	18
Computer Science	19
Economics	20
Electrical Engineering	21
Geography	22
Geology	23
History	24
Law	25
Mathematics	26
Management	27
Mechanical Engineering	28
Medical Science	29
Philosophy	30
Physiology	31
Physics	32
Political Science	33
Psychology	34
Sociology	35
Statistics	36
Zoology	37

WBCS 2024 Interview

Candidates passing the WBCS Mains Exam proceed to the ‘Interview’ Round. A panel appointed by WB PSC conducts the interview to assess the candidate’s personal suitability for state services. The objective is to gauge their mental and analytical abilities. Besides academic knowledge, candidates should be informed about current affairs within and outside their state.

WBCS Syllabus – FAQs